CREDIT: Marvel
Rating: 5/5 – Read This Book…Before Time Runs Out!
by ComicSpectrum reviewer Shawn Hoklas.
Just when you think the Avengers books couldn’t get any darker, Hickman proves us wrong. In New Avengers number twenty-four, Hickman takes the reader eight months into the future and shows us where the story is headed, and it’s not a pretty place. With the tagline of “In 8 Months…Time Runs Out” heading the cover, you get the sense of impending doom and that carries right on into the pages. It’s a dark story, but one where the villains are the focus. For so long, New Avengers has been a dark book as the heroes of the Illuminati have been forced to do some horrible things in order to save their world. As we look ahead, it’s now Namor’s Cabal that is making those horrible things look tame by comparison.
As the issue opens, we see Namor having a discussion with Dr. Doom. Namor is recounting how he’s lost control of the team he’s assembled to prevent the incursions that have been occurring since this series started. Thanos, Corvus Glaive, Terrax and more make up Namor’s villainous team and while they prevent each incursion from happening, they’re taking too much joy and pleasure in the counter world’s destruction and death. It’s a pleasure to see Hickman writing Thanos again, and in a particular scene Hickman shows us just how dark and disturbing of a villain he can be, which is further proven by Valerio Schiti’s artwork, which is just as strong as the writing in this issue. He’s able to go from the quiet scenes between Namor and Doom that rely so much on emotion and facial expressions, to the violent scenes of the invading earths. Doom looks as regal and imposing as he should while the Cabal, especially Terrax, look and feel terrifying. Schiti looks to be one of Marvel’s new go-to artists and it’s exciting to see him on a book that feels so important to the larger Marvel Universe.
Hickman’s writing of Namor and Doom is the highlight of the book as their personalities are perfectly showcased, each acting exactly how you’d expect them to, with some nice moments as Namor realizes how much things have spiraled out of his control. As exciting as this single issue was, we still haven’t seen just how it got to this place. There’s so much more story to be told which makes my anticipation of future issues even greater. New Avengers is a “must read” for me, I’m all in on this storyline.
Reviewed by: Shawn Hoklas
(shawn@comicspectrum.com)
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Hickman’s Avengers books keep getting better and better. So damn good!